Ever After
by Vee22
Summary: SEQUEL TO SYMMETRY. Jake Knightley and Emma Woodhouse are finally engaged! But someone is determined to keep the wedding from happening. Amidst all the mishaps and misunderstandings, will Jake and Emma make it to "happily ever after"?


_**Author's Note**_**:**

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><p><strong>To the readers of Symmetry<strong>**: **Thank you so much for your encouragement and kind words. I'm finally back! This story starts the evening after the ending of Symmetry. I do hope you enjoy this next stage of Jake and Emma's journey!

I have decided to write a short oneshot as a bonus for those who read Symmetry and who are now reading Ever After. Leave a signed review if you are one of those readers and I will send you the oneshot. :)

**To new readers****: **I highly recommend you read my prequel, Symmetry, before starting on this story – it will make a lot more sense if you do. :) Happy reading!

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><p><strong>PROLOGUE<strong>

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><p>"To Emma Woodhouse and Jake Knightley!" Isabella Knightley toasted, lifting her glass high in the air. "For getting engaged within a year… just… and helping me win my bet with John!"<p>

She grinned cheekily at her husband. "Looks like you're buying me a breadmaker, honey."

"Thanks a lot, guys," John grumbled good-naturedly, pretending to frown at the happy pair. In reality, like Izzy, he couldn't hide his genuine delight that his brother and Isabella's sister were finally engaged.

"Well, I _could _have waited another year to propose, but I really wanted to make sure Izzy got her breadmaker," Jake said with a straight face.

Emma snorted. "Please. You couldn't have waited any longer. You know you wanted to put a ring on it." She smiled as she held out her left hand.

"And what a ring it is," Isabella commented wryly, eyeing the circlet of chewing gum on Emma's ring finger.

Emma and Jake looked at each other and shared a secret smile. This wasn't the real engagement ring of course – Jake had also given Emma an elegant diamond solitaire – but she had insisted on wearing the chewing gum band that evening.

Only _they _understood how special that ring really was.

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><p>"I can't believe we're having a baby!" Dan Weston said in wonder, gently putting his hand on his wife's stomach.<p>

"_I _can," Taylor said with a groan. "I had my first bout of morning sickness today. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat scrambled eggs again."

"Poor baby," Dan sympathised. "Is there anything I can do?"

Taylor pondered for a minute. "Well, you _could _get me some caramel and peanut brittle ice-cream," she mused. "After all, I haven't really eaten today..."

"So the craving thing is real, huh?" her husband laughed. "At least you're not getting cravings for tuna and pickles or some other similar combination."

"Hey, tuna and pickles - that actually sounds pretty good!" Taylor exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. She put on her best puppy dog expression. "Sweetie, since you're going to the grocery store anyway..."

"You've got to be kidding," Dan said with a resigned sigh.

"I'm just telling you what the baby wants!" Taylor said teasingly.

"And does the baby want you to online shop too?" Dan asked, eyeing the stack of baby catalogues that had somehow taken over their kitchen table.

"Absolutely," his wife declared with confidence. "I can FEEL it guiding me towards those cute little booties and baby onesies! So I'll take care of those needs while you take care of the groceries."

"I'm going, I'm going," Dan said, holding up his hands in surrender. As he grabbed his keys, he looked at his wife and smiled. Beautiful as she always was, the pregnancy brought a glow to her cheeks that seemed to almost light her up from within.

"I love you," he blurted out, surprising himself. "And our baby... even if it does have pretty weird cravings."

Taylor's smile was radiant. "Oh, honey. We love you too."

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><p>"So when's the big day going to be?" John asked.<p>

"We were thinking in six months," his brother replied. "I wanted to get married today, Emma was thinking of waiting a year…. so we decided to compromise and set a date six months from now."

"Six months isn't much time to plan a wedding," said Izzy, a concerned expression on her pretty face. "It took over two years to plan mine!"

Emma laughed lightheartedly. "Yes, but you had to book your venue almost a year in advance, wanted extra time to fit into the perfect dress and had to deal with the drama of having six bridesmaids!" she reminded her sister. "Hopefully Jake and I will be doing something much smaller and simpler."

"Don't you want a big fancy wedding? I thought that was every girl's dream," John commented, casting a teasing glance at his wife. That had been Isabella's way of justifying their own big fancy wedding.

Emma screwed up her nose. "Not mine," she said with a grin. "If I had it my way, we'd be eloping on an island beach somewhere – maybe Vanuatu or Fiji. But I think Dad would have a stroke!"

"He'd start freaking out about the weather, what to wear, what to eat," Izzy agreed. "That makes sense. I guess you could always get married on a beach here in Sydney, though!"

"Maybe," Emma said thoughtfully. "I'm not sure about the venue yet. I do know who should be my matron of honour, though " She looked meaningfully at her sister.

Izzy's eyes lit up. "Me? Really?"

"I was your maid of honour, so it only seems fair that you be my matron of honour," Emma said with a grin. "Or don't you want to do it?"

"Are you kidding? I'd love to!" Izzy exclaimed. "Especially now that I've lost most of the weight I put on carrying E.J. I just figured you'd want Taylor to do it, though. She is your best friend, after all."

"No, I definitely want you to do it," Emma insisted. "Don't worry; I've already talked to Tay. She's fine with it. She'll be nearly seven months pregnant by the wedding and probably won't fit into a bridesmaid dress, anyway!"

"In that case, yes! Of course I'll be your matron of honour," Izzy accepted, a big smile on her face. She leaned over and gave Emma a huge hug.

Surrounded by the love of her fiancé and their siblings, Emma Woodhouse felt satisfied, content and blessed. She had everything she had ever wanted and more.

But the road of true love – and marriage – never did run smooth. And in the next six months, Emma would learn this lesson… the hard way.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_

Just a short teaser to begin with, but the chapters will get longer, I promise!


End file.
